Following the ancient Tradition of the Church, in the spirit of Her conciliar nature, and in accordance with Article 21 point 3 of the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America, We hereby summon the Annual Assembly of the Diocese of Western America to be held in conjunction with the 19th Annual Diocesan Days Gathering and the Celebration of the lives of two new American Saints, Sts. Sebastian and Mardarije, which will be held at Saint Steven's Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Alhambra, California from Friday, September 4th to Sunday, September 6th, 2015.

The Assembly of the Diocese is comprised of:

1. The Bishop2. Active Clergy, both orders3. Presidents of all Church-School Congregations or their Alternates4. Members of the Diocesan Council5. Members of Auditing Board6. One Elected delegate from each Church-School Congregation7. Two representatives of the Federation of Circle of Serbian Sisters of the Diocese

Should the President of the Church-School Congregation also be a member of the Diocesan Council, the Vice-president of the Executive Board may represent the Church-School Congregation at the Diocesan Assembly.

The enclosed Credentials form requesting the names of the Delegates who will represent your congregation, must be submitted to the Diocesan office no later than Friday, July 31, 2015. The Assembly Reports will be emailed to all parish clergy to distribute to the delegates. These reports will also be distributed to each delegate when they register at the Assembly. For more information please visit: http://westsrbdio.org/en/events/canonization.

On Friday, September 4th, 2015 at the Saint Steven's Cathedral in Alhambra, the Annual Clergy Lunch and Symposium will be held at 1:00 p.m. and the Diocesan Council Meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m. in the Cathedral Library. The Annual Diocesan Assembly will be held on Friday, September 4th at 4:00 p.m. Friday evening will include presentations by our honored guests, His Holiness Patriarch Irinej and many other Hierarchs. On Saturday, September 5th the Canonization Festivities for Sts. Sebastian and Mardarije will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the Procession of Relics and Icons of the New Saints, the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, and the Official Proclamation followed by a luncheon and symposium. The weekend’s festivities will conclude on Sunday, September 6th with the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy followed by a Banquet and an afternoon of fellowship and music.

Let us approach these gatherings of clergy and laity with joy and gladness and with the hope that God will grant us a productive and prosperous Assembly. We anticipate that every delegate will fully participate in not only the work of our Assembly, but most importantly in the Divine Services and Holy Eucharist.